On Monday Mr. Devlin moved the adjournment of the House
to call attention to the Belfast riots which he attributed to Protestant hatred of the Roman Catholic minority. He com- plained in particular of the destruction of a working girls' holiday home which he had founded, but the Chief Secretary said that the damage done was in fact trivial. Though everyone must regret that such an institution had been molested, it is a pity that Mr. Devlin should exaggerate the affair. The Chief Secretary declared that the Government had eight battalions in or near Belfast, and were resolved to act impar- tially in repressing either Protestant or Roman Catholic rioters. The riots, he said, were caused by the anger felt at the cruel murder in Cork of Colonel Smyth, a much respected Ulster Protestant. The troops and police alone had pre vented serious consequences. Only 42 members voted with Mr. Devlin, while 212 voted for the Government.
